Euston Films Ltd was founded in March 1971, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Thames Television. There were a number of factors behind its inception, both
creative and economic, but its remit was the production of filmed drama for the
domestic audience with a view to further sales abroad. In the decades that
followed, Euston was responsible for a stream of popular and critically
acclaimed series and single films that form an important part of the history of
television drama. As well as producing landmark shows like The Sweeney (ITV,
1975-78), Minder (ITV, 1979-94), and Widows (ITV, 1983-85), it established
enduring television careers for actors and writers such as John Thaw, Dennis
Waterman, Tom Bell and Lynda La Plante. The company is probably best remembered for crime thrillers set in seedy London locations, but this only represented a
part of its varied output. Euston is important because it popularised a method
of television production that was filmed entirely on location, with rapid
turnaround times and no rehearsal, which has become the standard method by which
television drama is now made. It was a relentlessly ambitious company, and this
ambition led to some artistic triumphs as well its gradual decline.
Euston Films was formed after Thames executives Lloyd Shirley, George Taylor
and Brian Tesler recognised that the Mike Hodges-directed Suspect (ITV, 1969) could be a model for a new type of filmed drama. The company entered
production with a reinvention of an existing Thames show, Special Branch (ITV,
1969-74). This decision was influenced by time constraints, and avoided the
risk of developing something entirely new to the public. Although the series had
a muted response, it enabled the regular crew to acclimatise to the new system
of production and, most importantly, introduced Ted Childs as the producer of
the second series. Childs went on to produce the single drama Regan (ITV, tx,
4/6/1974), in Euston's Armchair Cinema (1974-75) slot, and this in turn led to The
Sweeney. The series gained massive ratings, press notoriety, and ran for
four years. It made stars of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, and
will go down in popular history as the definitive Euston production.
While the new production methods had achieved success, there were also
weaknesses which could lead to a predictable action formula described by the
crew as 'kick, bollock and scramble'. But the success of The Sweeney allowed the
company (under the influence of incoming producer Verity Lambert and script
editor Linda Agran) to develop more ambitious projects. Lambert commissioned Out
(ITV, 1978) from Trevor Preston (a writer on The Sweeney) with Barry Hanson
acting as producer. Hanson had previously worked on Play for Today (BBC,
1970-84) and with David Rose for BBC Birmingham, and the mixture of dramatic
styles generated popular acclaim and intense critical debate. Preston and director Jim
Goddard worked together subsequently on Fox (ITV, 1980), and further
evidence of Euston's ambition was seen in the lavish and much underrated revival
of Quatermass (ITV, 1979). Although some of these serials, and other single
dramas such as The Knowledge (ITV, 1979), were successful, by definition they
were not destined for a long-running place in the ITV schedules, and it became
increasingly important that a durable ratings 'banker' should be developed.
Euston found this with Leon Griffiths' Minder (ITV, 1979-94), which had a
low-key start, mainly due to an interruption from the lengthy ITV strike and the
fact that the audience found it initially confusing to see Dennis Waterman in a
more comedic role, but it went on to become Euston's longest-running series, and
a reliable backup when other productions were lacking. This was followed by
Widows (1983) a huge popular and critical success which led to a glittering
writing career for the former Euston actress Lynda La Plante.
Although Minder and Widows were set in familiar territory, Euston was eager
to break into the lucrative US market, a policy that produced the glossy
colonial travelogue The Flame Trees of Thika (ITV, 1981) and, more successfully,
the epic spy story Reilly, Ace of Spies (ITV, 1983). Reilly's success led to a
more specific focus on the production of export-friendly serials and
mini-series, with occasional forays into series for minority audiences such as
Prospects (Channel 4, 1986). It could be argued that the subsequent lack of
long-term impact (Minder aside) in ITV's peak-time schedule, and the departures
of Verity Lambert and Linda Agran sowed the seeds of Euston's eventual
downfall.
By the late 1980s, Euston was simply one production company among the many
that had emerged in an increasingly deregulated environment. An alliance with
Goldwyn resulted in some undistinguished films intended for theatrical release,
and attempts to create new popular drama series - such as Capital City (ITV,
1989-90) - failed, though Minder valiantly continued in the absence of new
successes. Any chance of the company renewing itself was ended when Thames lost
its ITV franchise, and ironically, an adaptation of Angus Wilson's Anglo-Saxon
Attitudes (ITV, 1992) - one of Euston's last productions - was its best-received
for many years. Minder continued to be made for Central Television until the
mid-90s, but when the series ended the company simply faded away, its demise
scarcely acknowledged in the media.
Euston had a radical impact on the television industry, leading the field in
the shift from studio-produced drama to location-based filming, and creating a
lasting model of a company with a small administrative staff hiring equipment
and freelance staff on a project-by-project basis. But it will ultimately be
remembered for the power of its best drama, and its early commitment to allowing
writers, directors and stars to flourish creatively. There's an irony that HBO,
the US company which currently produces highly-respected television drama, has
flourished by drawing creative people away from the networks and allowing them
to follow their instincts - an approach originated by Euston.
John Williams
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